November 1, 2011

DOWN WITH BLANK WALLS!

We moved into our house about seven months ago, and I am just getting around to filling up my walls with pictures, shelves, & art. Blank walls are my nemesis. It is so hard to design a large wall! Grrrr!

However, when I came across this on Pinterest I thought, YAY! Something I can fill ONE of my blank walls with. I knew it would be time consuming and a little tedious, but I was up for the challenge. I read the directions, gathered up the supplies, and took a deep breath....

The dreaded blank wall...

Step 1: I printed out the stencil template from jonesdesigncompany (love her) and traced it on to a piece of heavy card stock and cut it out. Then, I started tracing the stencil onto the wall (this took the longest) while The Babe was taking his nap. Two days later (about three hours of tracing total), I was done. **They suggested using a ruler and a level to make sure it was even, but I just eyeballed it..good thing I was confident, eh?

Step 2: Got out my really thin paintbrush I had stashed away in my art kit. **If you need to buy one, they are about $4-$8 depending on what quality you want. I suggest if you are going to try this, you spend a little more and get a high quality brush. Don't SKIMP on a cheap brush, you will regret it! You don't want any stray hairs messing up your lines. For paint, I just used some white latex paint I had leftover from a previous project. I initially bought some gold metallic paint from Martha Stewart that I thought would be gorgeous, and was dying to do it on this wall, but alas it didn't show up on my tan wall (I have another project in mind for it though, don't worry).

When I got all my supplies ready, I got to work painting. It was scary just going gung-ho painting on my wall when I really had no idea what I was doing. After about ten minutes, though I really got the hang of it and found it to be really relaxing! I always forget how much I love painting until I do it again.

It doesn't have to be perfect, cause hey nobody is perfect! However, I did take a step back once and a while to make sure it was looking good/straight. In total, it took me about three naptimes (aka three hours) to finish it.

Midway through..

Step 3: Keep going, and going and going...you will love it when it's done I promise! Paint slowly, keep your hand close to the wall as you paint, and you will get much straighter lines.

Step 4: Take a look! It's done! I love, love it. There are lots of imperfections and mistakes, but you can't really tell unless you are me! I love it so much, I just might do another stencil on another wall!

I might go back and trace a double line like she did originally, but for now, I am happy with it!

If you try it, let me know, I would love to see your finished wall! Happy Stenciling!